Wandy

Right. So you are unable to debate a point without resorting to jibes and sarcasm. Thanks for clearing that up.

Your post was snarky as fuck man. ..."apparently extending the ground means they have less ambition, har har har" ...well yeah, on the face of it that does sound ridiculous, but if you consider it in a wider context then going from considering building an entirely new stadium to a modest extension, then that can be seen as being less ambitious. Again though, the sarcasm in your post insinuated that I was just being a whingebag who was disenchanted with the ownership, which is actually far from the case. If all they do is extend the Gallowgate then they are still as good as any owners the club has ever had. But it would still be quite far from having elite ambitions IMO. And that is because over the last 30 months the goalposts have been moved, meaning the massive gap between NUFC and the cartel cant merely be bridged by a modest extension to the Gallowgate.

No, that’s just you twisting my words. I speculated that they may be scaling back their ambition from when they first arrived, that’s all. Your jibe insulated that I was accusing them of a lack of ambition entirely. I don’t think it’s outlandish to think that ‘the project” has a lot more obstacles than they originally anticipated and they might have less grandiose plans for us now. For what it’s worth, my problem with merely extending Level 7 has more to do with the fact that I don’t see it improving the matchday experience. More seats yes, but also more seats with crap views and also a diminished overall stadium atmosphere.

Another one that doesn’t know how to read.

Literally nobody said anything remotely close to that.

Which is why only adding a Gallowgate extension is such a concern. Extend Level 7, put standard seats in there (maybe making it a singing section) and then move people out of prime seats in the Gallowgate/Leazes & into the new Level 7 section, so that the vacated Gallowgate/Leazes seats can become corporate. Then watch goals on the TV being celebrated by people politely applauding, rather than mass hysteria....and everyone wondering what happened to NUFC's much-fabled support.

The bottom line is that the club's infrastructure needs something like a £2bn investment to become one of the elite. I imagine that a Gallowgate extension (together with an East Stand modification, which I would imagine they are also planning) would cost about £500m. It sounds already like they are just happy to be the 7th biggest club in the league if this extension rumour is true.

That was my immmediate thought too. And if true, I seriously doubt that the all-new training complex will be happening. If this is the plan for the stadium then it indicates that we are being tarted up for a future sale in the short to medium term future.

That is seriously underwhelming. Extending the worst part of the stadium, which has shocking views, and will also make the accoustics even worse.

Has there been a recent poll that you can point me to? I'm basing my judgement on the comments I read across the various social media channels.

If we announce that we are just tarting up SJP then that is a very worrying sign for how long PIF plan to stick around IMO. A huge statement of intent needs to be made this summer and a new stadium needs to be the priority. I think the vast majority of the support have now come around to the idea that SJP is now hindering our progression as a club, so the owners should quit worrying about making the decision to build elsewhere within the city centre.

The amount of humble pie being gorged on by people will be something to behold if this happens.

Good, not great. IMO. And definitely not worth £50m.

This is my worry too. If we blow £50m on Solanke this summer then that will be confirmation for me that things are going in the wrong direction.

Honeymoon well and truly over now I’m afraid. And his position needs to be under scrutiny for the rest of this season. I don’t think it’s guaranteed that he will be here next season. This summer is absolutely crucial and if we get it wrong it will shaft us for a significant amount of time. It’s a worrying time IMO. Awful performances for months and we have now lost our much-fabled Director of Football, with one of the reasons apparently being that he doesn’t have the best relationship with the manager. Are we certain that the right bloke is leaving the club? We have had rotten luck this season but what is happening on the field right now is simply unacceptable.

What exactly are these stats describing?

Finally, they are starting to catch on. https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/what-is-the-point-in-sunderland-afc.1628318/#post-40206224

Lots of chatter on social media about Leeds' brilliant atmosphere at Elland Road last night. Interesting how looking at this video of it, & the demographic seems to be widespread kids in their 20s and early 30s. An all new extended SJP should allow us to get this kind of crowd into our stadium.

It also took them nearly 100 years into their history to overtake us on trophies won. Or 102 years if you’re just talking domestic trophies. Not once before 1968 had they ever been ahead of us on trophies won. They are obviously a giant now but that’s only happened in the last 30 years. Busby made them big and Ferguson made them elite. Before the 1950s though they were the literal definition of mediocrity.

Twelve managers in the last 10 years. Or 20 managers if you included caretakers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sunderland_A.F.C._managers

Utter shambles of a football club.

I've watched the first couple of episodes of this series and I've never seen so many unhealthy-looking people as those in this documentary. Not even on trips to Blackpool, and that takes some doing.

Unfortunately, we will. They are correct in what they are saying on red cafe. It will get negotiated down to about £12m IMO.

Exactly this. £20m is a pittance when you consider how much they and the media are crowing about nabbing him from us. Double it to £40m and we are talking….and he still can’t start working for them till 2nd September.